A Detailed Catalogue of the Second Archives of Bertrand Russell

Bertrand Russell's literary legacy encompasses an enormous quantity of correspondence and manuscripts. He first disposed of his papers to McMaster University in 1968, but withheld confidential files. The "First Russell Archives" as it is known at McMaster, was the subject of "A detailed catalogue of the Archives of Bertrand Russell" prior to the sale and was edited by Barry Feinberg. At the same time Russell and the staff at the Russell Peace Foundation continued to create new documents which arrived at McMaster some years after Lord Russell's death in 1970. They are now the subject of a separate book catalogue, prepared by Russell Archivist Kenneth Blackwell, Carl Spadoni and other staff in the University Library. The catalogue covers Russell's last half-dozen years of intense political activity, from the Committee of 100 through to the Vietnam Solidarity Campaign to the International War Crimes Tribunal and the multifarious activities of Lord Russell's emissaries around the world. Dozens of revolutionary movements were in close contact with Russell and the cases of many political prisoners sought his intervention in countries that, however despotic, still revered Russell's name and his wisdom. The confidential files withheld from Archives I are included in Archives II. Full details are provided and most of the files are now open for research. This book includes illustrations and an index comprising 12,000 names. Each class of correspondence has an introduction. The numeric classification system of the Russell Archives is provided where needed for effective reference. An introduction by the Russell Archivist places the main contents of the Second Archives in the context of Russell's life.